Could Torres Be Benched?

byBrian HallonJuly 4, 2010

Fernando Torres has had a tough stretch recently and the Liverpool striker who missed the last few months of the EPL season hasn’t scored yet in four starts this World Cup. And now many fans of the Red Fury are beginning to wonder if he is currently playing well enough to even get the starting nod.

And although Torres being benched would be a shocker this is Spain we are talking about here. In other words the player that would get the nod over Torres would be the young sensation Cesc Fabregas who has seen regular substitution minutes late in the match. Many believe that this 4-5-1 formation is the national side’s deadliest and it was in fact the formula used in the final match of the Euro 2008 title due to the injury absence of David Villa from that tournament.

And overall it seems as if the Spanish side is at their best when Fabregas is in the match and Villa is the lone striker up top. Torres just appears rusty right now and perhaps he would be more effective coming off of the bench late into the match. Several critics have offered their own insight into why Torres isn’t performing as expected and the theories range from the logical (Torres missed too much time leading up to the Cup) to the illogical (Torres cut off the blond bangs).

But whatever the reason why the man considered possibly the best from his country has had little impact, the good news is that the Red Fury have not needed to rely on Torres so far. In fact they might only need one goal from Torres this summer and if the Liverpool man was to score in his next two matches perhaps nobody will remember his poor form up to the critical goal. After all history is written by the winners and Torres just might find himself on the winning side.

Here is what Torres’ coach Del Bosque had to say about the strikers chances of starting:

To be on a [scoreless] streak or not, he offers hard work and personality and he’ll be our striker. Saying that doesn’t mean he’s an untouchable starter, but we have full confidence in him.